WESTLAND, Mich. – A Michigan police offer is being lauded for his compassion after buying a man a car seat.
Lavante Dell thought the worst when he was pulled over last week and figured he’d get a ticket for having tinted windows.
However, Officer Joshua Scaglione noticed Dell’s 3-year-old daughter wasn’t in a car seat. He could have given him a ticket, but Scaglione took another approach.
He asked Dell why he didn’t have a car seat; Dell told him couldn’t afford it.
“So I took him out of the car, separated him from his family and asked him what’s going on. He’s like, ‘Bills are building up, overtaking my income and I can’t afford a car seat right now,'” Scaglione told WJBK.
Dell said the officer then asked him if he needed a car seat. Dell hesitated before admitting that he could use one.
“He looked around and said ‘Can you follow me to Walmart?’” Dell recalled.
Dell was stunned; he and the officer walked into Walmart, where Scaglione used his own money to buy a car seat for Dell’s daughter. The officer left the store before Dell had the chance to thank him.
Dell wrote a Facebook post thanking the officer for his kindness, but he didn’t know the officer’s name. The Westland Police Department eventually revealed that Scaglione was responsible.
“It was difficult to identify the officer responsible as he had not told anyone about what had happened,” the department wrote on Facebook. “It is clear that his sole purpose was to assist the driver, not to receive recognition.”
The department arranged a meeting so Dell could express his gratitude in person.
“I had no other choice but to do that for you,” Scaglione told Dell. “You have a daughter and she is a No. 1 priority and you deserve it.”
“A thank you is appropriate but I still don’t think this is enough,” Dell said. “Like I say he didn’t have to do what he did at all.”
